Mouthpiece for reed instruments



W. LEWERENZ.

MOUIHPIECE FOR REED INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3!. I921- 1,401,159, Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

2 f l -r:- 1 z i 0 i f l b /z A If 9 :3: v

UNITED STATES PATENT creme.

WILLIAM LEWERENZ, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MOUTHPIECE FOR REED INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed May 31,

T cZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM LEWERENZ, a citizen of the United States,and resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mouthpieces for ReedInstruments, of which the following is a specification containing afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in mouth pieces for reedinstruments and has for its primary object a mouth piece for a reedinstrument which is provided with a metallic facing so that the lay forthe reed will not change.

A further object is to construct a mouth piece for reed instruments ofthe clarinet or saxophone type, employing a facing of metal which willprevent the breaking down of the bridge or throat of the mouth piece andconsequently change the lay.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a mouth piece with my improvement inposition.

Fig. 2 a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 a bottom plan view of the facing.

Fig. 5 a bottom plan view of the mouth piece.

In the construction of my device I employ a mouth piece 6 which is ofordinary construction and preferably made of hard rubber or some similarsubstance which is not affected to any great extent by atmosphericconcitions. This mouth piece is provided with a bore 7 which graduallyopens into the chamber 8. The chamber8 receiving the vibrations from thereed which is secured to the mouth piece by means of the ligature in theordinary manner. The mouth piece is provided on its upper face with theflattened surface 9 and with the opening 10 which communicates with thechamber 8. The opening 10 terminates near he central portion of themouth piece and what is termed the bridge or throat 11 and with the forward part in the lip 12. Formed in the fiattened por tion of the mouthpiece is a dove tailed groove 13. This groove is made wider at the lip12 than at the heel 14 and in this dove tailed groove is a facin 15.This facing is also tapered to fit the groove as indi- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2'7, 1921.

1921. Serial 310. 473,819.

cated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4:, and has its two longitudinal edges as wellas the heel, tapered so as to fit snugly within the dove tail. Thefacing is provider with an opening 16 which corresponds in size andshape with the opening 10. After the facing has been.inserted, a pin 17is inserted into tne opening 18 formed in the facing and the opening 19formed in the mouth piece 6. This prevents the facing from slipping foward while the same is being prepared, or other words, while the lay isbeing ground thereon and also when the instrument is in use. The forwardedge 12 of the facing 15 is provided with downward projecting lip 20.This lip has its inner edge inclined at 21. This is for the purpose ofpreventing the splitting or cracking off of the lower edge of the mouthpiece which I have found to be the case where this lip is not provided,inasmuch as the inclined face 22 of the mouth piece tapers up to a verysharp edge when the lip is not in use and the slightest cracking orsplitting off of the material will cause an air leak underneath thefacing and consequently defect the tone and plan of the instrument. Ihave also found in the ordinary mouth piece, that is, a mouth piececonstructed of hard rubber or similar material, the constant tighteningof the ligature which will cause a sagging or breaking down of thebridge or throat 11. This occurs gradually, but in time ruins the mouthpiece as it causes a variation in the lay for the reed and thisvariation in the lay seriously affects the tone quality or intonationand the performer usually blames the trouble on the reed or on his lip,whereas, the whole cause is in the mouth piece.

By the use of my facing this breaking down of the bridge is entirelyeliminated as is also the change in the lay due to the warping of themouth piece, or even due to the vibration of the reed on the lay sincethe facing is suiiiciently harc. to withstand this vibration without anyperceptible wear, whereas in hard rubber the wear takes place to aperceptible degree Within a relatively short time as far as mouth piecesfor reed instruments, are concerned.

In the construction of my device I may either mold the facing in whilethe mouth piece is being formed or cut the dove tailed groove after theformation of the mouth piece. The latter way of assembling the mouthpiece and facing is preferable, as agreater degree of accuracy can beobtained in this manner. However, for cheapness, the former ispreferable.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A mouth piece for reed instruments comprising a mouth piece, a boreformed in said mouth piece formed of hard rubber, a chamber opening intosaid bore, an opening formed in the mouth piece and communicating withsaid chamber, and a metallic facing embedded in said mouth piece, saidmetallic facing having an opening communicating with the chamber, a lipformed integral with said metallic facing, said lip adapted to preventthe splitting of the mouth piece at its forward end, and means forsecuring said metallic facing to the mouth piece. 7

2. A mouth piece for reed instruments comprising a mouth piece formed ofhard rubber, said mouth piece provided with a bore, a chamber formed insaid mouth piece and communicating with said bore, an openingformed inthe upper face of said mouth piece and communicating with the chamber, ametallic facing having dove tailed edges seated in the upper face ofsaid mouth piece, said metallic facing having an opening registeringwith the opening formed in said mouth piece, a downwardly projecting lipformed integral with said facing and a pin for securing said facingwithin said mouth piece.

8. A mouth piece for reed instruments comprising a body portion formedof hard rubber, said body portion having a tapered dove tailed grooveformed in its upper face, a bore formed in said mouth piece, a chamberformed in said mouth piece and communicating with said bore, an openingformed in said mouth piece and communieating with said chamber, ametallic facing adapted to be inserted in said dove tailed groove, anopening formed in said facing and adapted to register with said chamber,and a downwardly projecting lip formed in tegral withsaid facing. a

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM LEWERENZ.

